


My Lady

by NoStrangertoMisfortune (Seven_Shades_of_A)



Series: Shattered Mirrors [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Airships, F/F, Fantasy, Pining, Secret Relationship, Steampunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-16 23:10:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7288438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seven_Shades_of_A/pseuds/NoStrangertoMisfortune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The stars aren't the only thing worth admiring on the Eudora, although neither are quite within her reach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Lady

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Writingfish (idraax)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idraax/gifts).



It was a clear night. Cata gave a sigh of relief, leaning against the railing in front of the domed window of the observation deck. She always loved nights like this, when the winds had pushed away the rainclouds of the evenings. On nights like that, with the _Eudora_ flying so close to the heavens, she felt as though she could touch the stars.

The skies were a deep, dark blue that she couldn’t seem to name, scattered with silvery flecks of starlight. The higher she looked, the darker the blue, the brighter the silver. The very edge of the horizon had been left a vivid magenta by the memory of a sunset. It seemed to picturesque to be real sometimes, like her own personal impressionist painting.

The soft sound of booted footsteps echoed through the empty room. Cata didn’t have to glance back to know who was coming. She knew that gait too well, had heard the same footsteps across the floor of her bedchambers on stolen nights far from society’s critical eyes. Still, she turned to face the woman she had become so familiar with.

The grease stains and tears in her trousers and dress shirt spoke of hours wasted away in the engines of her precious _Eudora_. But her raven hair, usually kept in intricate plaits around her head like a crown, was hanging loose to her shoulders. It had turned curly from the heat of the engines and Cata wondered if it was any softer to the touch. Her eyes wandered across the woman’s features, lingering over the soft cupid’s bow of her lips before moving across her aquiline nose and towards her ombré eyes. They were always a different shade of brown, depending on the light. Tonight they were a brilliant burnished copper.

Arika was the type of woman poets would romanticize, waxing on about each distinction of her face and comparing her to goddesses. Or comparing her to the stars just beyond the window.

It always made Cata feel a pang of sadness for the woman. Had she been born of a higher status, her beauty would have been better appreciated. It also made her the slightest bit proud, given that she alone had the privilege of admiring Arika, which subsequently led to guilt.

Arika offered a small, crooked smile as she stopped beside Cata, leaning against the rails for a better look. It was only a handful of seconds that she spent on the stars. Cata forced her eyes skyward as she saw her eyes shift away from the glass. She didn’t want to be caught staring like some lovelorn child, regardless of how Arika would laugh at how ridiculous a phrase it was.

“I was afraid the rain might have ruined the view tonight.”

Cata offered a tentative smile of her own, “As was I. I’m relieved to be proven wrong.”

“Will you ever tire of this, Lady Andres?” Arika asked, gesturing towards the view. “Of the endless traveling?”

“Will you?”

There’s a spark of something in Arika’s eyes, the same nameless emotion Cata always felt she was drowning in. She can already hear the words in her head when Arika says, “Never.”

There’s a moment of silence before she asks Cata, “You never answered, my lady.”

Cata doesn’t want to think about that. As much as she loves it on the _Eudora_ , she knows that eventually her father will put his foot down, will order her back home to marry and settle down into a life of domesticity. It’s a thought that gnaws at the back of her mind late in the night, particularly when she has Arika in her arms. But she won’t think of that at the moment.

She wants to be fearless for a few hours more.

“Am I to expect your company tonight, Arika?”

Cata has to keep herself from staring at the way the mechanic’s lips quirk up in a crooked smile that always makes her feel comforted. Seeing that smile is like coming home at long last.

“Of course, s _anam_.”

Cata can’t help the smile that tugs at her lips when she hears the name Arika’s given her. It’s a private word, whispered between them only when they’re alone, as quiet and powerful as a prayer. She brushes her hand over Arika’s, their fingers entwining as her mechanic presses a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

Their fingers trail across each other as she walks away. She’s reluctant to let go of Arika, but she knows they must keep moving. The more she travels, the further across the globe they go, the less like her father is to find them.

“I must ask the captain to set us a new course,” she explains. “Wait for me in my chambers?”

Arika offers a bow, giving an amusing flourish of her wrist, “As you wish, my lady.”


End file.
